Showstopper Nationals
July 23, 2026
This year marked our first time ever dabbling in the dance competition world.
As Thủy Vân Dance Company, our purpose has never been to operate as a business. Our purpose is to give young dancers a platform to express their love for Vietnamese culture and dance; to preserve and spread Vietnamese culture and heritage through movement.
In the past, dance competitions never even crossed our minds. To us, they were a platform for talented, classically trained dancers who attended renowned professional schools. On the other hand, we are a small, self-created group that practices in our director’s backyard. Entering this world as a Vietnamese folk dance company posed an even greater challenge: We lack much of the classical technique that often serves as the judging criteria. Yet, at the end of the day, we came to realize that dance is art. It is a platform for creativity, storytelling, and expression. It is a platform to share whatever message we choose. For us, that message has always been: “Look at the beauty of our Vietnamese culture."
Showstopper gave us an incredible opportunity to do exactly that. Their Folkloric category encouraged us to put ourselves out there. We were also inspired by friends within the dance community—watching the Chinese Dance Company of Southern California proudly represent Chinese dance on a Western competition stage gave us the courage and confidence to present our own culture with the same pride.
After much research, we could not find that any Vietnamese folk or classical dance piece has ever been presented on a U.S. dance competition stage. Authentic Vietnamese folk and classical dance itself is already difficult to find in the west. Because of that, we wanted to seize the opportunity to proudly introduce Vietnamese dance to a new audience and become the first group to bring it to this platform.
Our journey began with our director competing at Regionals in a Cao Lan ethnic-inspired solo. Following his overall placement, Thủy Vân Dance Company qualified for West Coast Nationals. At Nationals, we presented four new works alongside one returning piece. We proudly debuted our Thủy Vân Dance Company Juniors with “Moonlit Landscape,” a Kinh-styled dance. Our junior soloists also took the stage: Raiden Lai performed “The Horse Tamer,” inspired by the horse-whip opera dance tradition, while Lauren Kim presented “Finding Home,” a Kinh-inspired kite dance. Our adult company performed “Welcome to the Highlands,” a Dao ethnic dance, and “The Mud-Stained Wings,” a contemporary interpretive work rooted in Kinh culture.
Lauren's solo, “Finding Home,” was the first piece in our setlist that had lyrics, allowing the audience to unmistakably hear the Vietnamese language. There was an overwhelming sense of pride hearing our language fill the ballroom. That same feeling returned during “Welcome to the Highlands” and “The Mud-Stained Wings.” In those moments, we realized we were sharing a culture that many in the audience had likely never encountered through dance before.
To say the experience from preparation to post-performance was enjoyable is an understatement. Showstopper fostered an incredibly welcoming and enriching environment, and we were humbled to hear compliments about our choreography, artistry, creativity, and cultural storytelling in our judge critiques. At the same time, we welcomed constructive critiques on our technique—feedback that will only help us more authentically and beautifully represent Vietnamese dance in the future. The experience strengthened our desire to continue improving, not simply to become stronger competitors, but to become better ambassadors of our culture. There is still so much of Vietnam left to share.
Throughout the entire competition, our greatest emphasis was never on winning. It was simply putting ourselves out there. This sentiment echoed our main mission, one we never strayed from: to spread Vietnamese culture through dance. We entered the competition with nothing to lose and everything to gain—not just by introducing audiences to our heritage, but by growing as dancers, learning from others, demonstrating good sportsmanship, building friendships within the dance community, strengthening our teamwork, and challenging ourselves artistically.
Those experiences carry a value far greater than any trophy ever could.